Babyn Yar

This piece was entered to Prospect 100’s design competition, where the piece had to be inspired by one of a provided list of news articles and sources pertaining to Ukraine. Below is the description I wrote with the entry: My piece is inspired by the new source titled “All of #Ukraine is indignant about the cynic shelling of the #BabynYar memorial that commemorates thousands of innocent victims of fascism.” I took direct inspiration from the tweet, quoting “We remember. Do you?” for the main concept. Researching further I learned there is a history of, first the Germans, then later the Soviet government, trying to cover up the massacre at Babyn Yar where 33,000 Jews, and later more, were murdered. After Ukraine came under Soviet rule, Ukrainian Jews continued to experience discrimination and prejudice as the Soviet Union and Russia had strongly held anti semitic views and policies.  The menorah shaped monument pictured in the piece wasn’t erected until 1991, after Ukraine declared its independence, being the first official recognition and commemoration of the Jews whose lives were brutally taken at Babyn Yar. While, luckily this monument was not destroyed in Russia’s recent shelling of Babyn Yar, it stands as an even stronger reminder of what can happen when good people do not stand up to evil, revealing the truth: Putin is a fascist trying once again to silence and cover up the independence and freedom of the courageous Ukrainian people through massacre. This time the world is watching, and the courage of Ukrainians in the face of so much loss is revered. The world must choose to remember and choose to act to prevent history repeating. This is what I hope comes across in my piece.